福尔摩斯探案故事 - 书虫·牛津英汉双语读物

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福尔摩斯探案故事 = Sherlock Holmes Short Stories／（英）道尔（Doyle, A. C.）著；（英）韦斯特（West, C.）改写；咸珊珊译．—北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2007.7（2013.11 重印）

(书虫·牛津英汉双语读物)

ISBN 978-7-5600-6817-6

Ⅰ．福…　Ⅱ．①道…②韦…③咸…　Ⅲ．①英语—汉语—对照读物②侦探小说—作品集—英国—现代　Ⅳ．H319.4: I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字（2007）第104933号

出版人：　蔡剑峰

责任编辑：周　晶

封面设计：孙莉明

出版发行：外语教学与研究出版社

社　　址：北京市西三环北路19号（100089）

网　　址：http://www.fltrp.com

版　　次：2007年7月第1版

书　　号：ISBN 978-7-5600-6817-6

制售盗版必究　举报查实奖励

版权保护举报电话：(010)88817519

内容简介

我们一想起侦探，第一个想到的就是夏洛克·福尔摩斯。甚至在距离关于他的第一个故事已一百多年的今天，他仍然是我们心中最伟大的侦探。游客们仍然会到伦敦的贝克街去看他的公寓。有很多关于他的电影和图片——我们都知道他的样子，知道他穿什么衣服。

但是他从来就没存在过。他的故事仅仅是故事而已，那么我们为什么记住他了呢？

因为他喜欢抓罪犯。夏洛克·福尔摩斯追踪罪犯就像猎人追踪狐狸一样。他像猎犬和警犬一样，鼻子贴在地上——追踪罪犯到世界的尽头。罪犯可能试图藏匿——但只要夏洛克·福尔摩斯开始追踪，我们就知道他终会成功。

SHERLOCK HOLMES SHORT STORIES

When we think of a detective, we think first of Sherlock Holmes. Even now, more than a hundred years after the first story about him, he is still the greatest detective of all. Tourists still go to Baker Street, in London, to see the place where he had his flat. There are films about him, pictures of him — we all know what he looked like, we all know what kind of clothes he wore.

And yet he never existed. The stories about him are just stories. So, why do we remember him?

It is because he loves catching criminals. Sherlock Holmes chases the criminal as a hunter chases a fox. He is a bloodhound, a police dog, with his nose to the ground following the criminal to the end of the world. The criminal may try to hide — but when Sherlock Holmes has started the chase, we know that he will finish it with a 'kill'.

THE SPECKLED BAND　有斑点的带子

The Speckled Band

有斑点的带子

1
Helen's Story

At the time of this story, I was still living at my friend Sherlock Holmes's flat in Baker Street in London. Very early one morning, a young woman, dressed in black, came to see us. She looked tired and unhappy, and her face was very white. 'I'm afraid! Afraid of death, Mr Holmes!' she cried. 'Please help me! I'm not thirty yet and look at my grey hair! I'm so afraid!'

'Just sit down and tell us your story,' said Holmes kindly.

'My name is Helen Stoner,' she began, 'and I live with my stepfather, Dr Grimesby Roylott, near a village in the country. His family was once very rich, but they had no money when my stepfather was born. So he studied to be a doctor, and went out to India. He met and married my mother there, when my sister Julia and I were very young. Our father was dead, you see.'

'Your mother had some money, perhaps?' asked Sherlock Holmes.

'Oh yes, mother had a lot of money, so my stepfather wasn't poor any more.'

'Tell me more about him, Miss Stoner,' said Holmes.

'Well, he's a violent man. In India he once got angry with his Indian servant and killed him! He had to go to prison because of that, and then we all came back to England. Mother died in an accident eight years ago. So my stepfather got all her money, but if Julia or I marry, he must pay us ￡250 every year.'

'And now you live with him in the country,' said Holmes.

'Yes, but he stays at home and never sees anybody, Mr Holmes!' answered Helen Stoner. 'He's more and more violent now, and sometimes has fights with the people from the village. Everybody's afraid of him now, and they run away when they see him. And they're also afraid of his Indian wild animals which run freely around the garden. A friend sends them to him from India. And the animals are not the only wild things in the garden; there are also gipsies. My stepfather likes these wild people, and they can come and go where they like. Poor Julia and I had very unhappy lives. We had no servants. They always left because they were afraid of my stepfather, and we had to do all the work in the house. Julia was only thirty when she died, and her hair was already grey, like my hair now.'

'When did she die?' asked Sherlock Holmes.

'She died two years ago, and that's why I'm here. We never met anybody in the country, but sometimes we visited some of my family who live near London. There Julia met a young man who asked to marry her. My stepfather agreed, but soon after this she died.' Miss Stoner put her hand over her eyes and cried for a minute.

Sherlock Holmes was listening with his eyes closed, but now he opened them and looked at Helen Stoner.

'Tell me everything about her death,' he said.

'I can remember it all very well. It was a terrible time!' she answered. 'Our three bedrooms are all downstairs. First there is my stepfather's room. Julia's room is next to his, and my room is next to Julia's. The rooms all have windows on the garden side of the house, and doors which open into the corridor. One evening our stepfather was smoking his strong Indian cigarettes in his room. Julia couldn't sleep because she could smell them in her room, so she came into my room to talk to me. Before she went back to bed, she said to me, "Helen, have you ever heard a whistle in the middle of the night?"

'I was surprised. "No," I said.

'"It's strange," she said. "Sometimes I hear a whistle, but I don't know where it comes from. Why don't you hear it?"

'I laughed and said, "I sleep better than you do." So Julia went to her room, and locked the door after her.'

'Why did you lock your doors?' asked Sherlock Holmes.

'We were afraid of the wild animals, and the gipsies,' she answered.

'Please go on,' said Holmes.

'I couldn't sleep that night. It was a very stormy night, with a lot of wind and rain. Suddenly I heard a woman's scream. It was my sister's voice. I ran into the corridor, and just then I heard a whistle, and a minute later the sound of falling metal. I didn't know what it was. I ran to my sister's door. She opened it and fell to the ground. Her face was white and afraid, and she was crying, "Help me, help me, Helen, I'm ill, I'm dying!" I put my arms around her, and she cried out in a terrible voice: "Helen! Oh my God, Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!" She wanted to say more, but she couldn't. I called my stepfather, who tried to help her, but we could do nothing. And so my dear, dear sister died.'

'Are you sure about the whistle and the sound of falling metal?' asked Holmes.

'I think so,' answered Helen. 'But it was a very wild, stormy night. Perhaps I made a mistake. The police couldn't understand why my sister died. Her door was locked and nobody could get into her room. They didn't find any poison in her body. And what was "the speckled band"? Gipsies wear something like that round their necks. I think she died because she was so afraid, but I don't know what she was afraid of. Perhaps it was the gipsies. What do you think, Mr Holmes?'

Holmes thought for a minute. 'Hmm,' he said. 'That is a difficult question. But please go on.'

'That was two years ago,' Helen Stoner said. 'I have been very lonely without my sister, but a month ago a dear friend asked me to marry him. My stepfather has agreed, and so we're going to marry soon. But two days ago I had to move to my sister's old bedroom, because some men are mending my bedroom wall, and last night I heard that whistle again! I ran out of the house immediately and came to London to ask for your help. Please help me, Mr Holmes! I don't want to die like Julia!'

'We must move fast,' said Holmes. 'If we go to your house today, can we look at these rooms? But your stepfather must not know.'

'He's in London today, so he won't see you. Oh thank you, Mr Holmes, I feel better already.'

grey adj. of a colour intermediate between black and white 灰白的

stepfather n. a man who is married to one's mother after the divorce of one's parents or the death of one's father 继父

violent adj. likely to attack, hurt, or kill other people 狂暴的

servant n. a person employed to perform duties for others, especially in a house on domestic duties or as a personal attendant 仆人

gipsy n. a member of travelling people with dark skin and hair, speaking a language related to Hindi, and traditionally living by itinerant trade and fortune telling 吉普赛人

terrible adj. extremely bad, serious, or unpleasant 可怕的

corridor n. a long passage from which doors lead into rooms 走廊

whistle n. a clear, high-pitched sound made by forcing breath through a small hole between partly closed lips, or between one's teeth 口哨

lock v. to fasten with a lock 锁,锁上

stormy adj. affected or disturbed by a storm 有暴风雨的

suddenly adv. quickly or unexpectedly 突然

scream n. a screaming cry or sound 尖叫声

poison n. a substance which causes death or harm when introduced into or absorbed by a living organism 毒药

mend v. to restore to a sound condition 修理，修补

1．海伦的故事

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故事发生的时候，我还住在我的朋友夏洛克·福尔摩斯在伦敦贝克街的公寓里。一天大清早，一位穿黑衣的年轻女人来见我们。她看起来疲惫而忧郁，脸色苍白。“我害怕！害怕死，福尔摩斯先生！”她哭道，“请帮帮我！我还不到30岁，但是看看我灰白的头发！我太害怕了！”

“先坐下，给我们讲讲你的事。”福尔摩斯温和地说。

“我叫海伦·斯托纳，”她开始说道，“我和继父格里姆斯比·罗伊洛特医生住在乡下，在一个村子附近。他家原来很富有，但是我继父出生的时候他们已经没有钱了。所以他学医并且去了印度。他在那里遇到了我母亲并和她结了婚，那时候我姐姐朱莉娅和我还很小。你知道，我们的父亲死了。”

“你母亲大概有些钱吧？”夏洛克·福尔摩斯问道。

“噢，是的，我母亲有很多钱，所以继父从此摆脱了穷困。”

“再多给我讲些他的情况，斯托纳小姐。”福尔摩斯说。

“哦，他是个粗暴的人。在印度的时候，他曾经跟他的印度仆人生气，竟然把那个人杀了！他为此坐了牢，后来我们都回到了英国。妈妈八年前死于一次事故。所以继父得到了她所有的钱，但是如果朱莉娅或者我结婚的话，他必须每年付给我们250英镑。”

“现在你们和他住在乡下。”福尔摩斯说。

“是的，但是他总待在家里，从来不见任何人，福尔摩斯先生！”海伦·斯托纳回答，“他现在越来越粗暴了，有时还和村里的人打架。现在所有的人都害怕他，见到他就跑开。他们也害怕他养的那些印度野兽，那些野兽在花园里乱跑，那是他的一个朋友从印度送来的。花园里不光有野兽，还有吉普赛人。继父喜欢这些野蛮人，他们可以在那儿自由来去。可怜的朱莉娅和我过得非常不开心。我们没有仆人。他们总是因为害怕我继父而离开，我们只好自己做家务。朱莉娅死的时候才30岁，她的头发已经灰白了，就像我现在的头发一样。”

“她什么时候死的？”夏洛克·福尔摩斯问。

“她是两年前死的，我就是为这件事来的。我们从来不和村里的人交往，但是有时候我们会去拜访住在伦敦附近的一些亲戚。在那里朱莉娅遇到了一个年轻人，他想娶她。我继父同意了，但是不久之后她就死了。”斯托纳小姐捂着眼睛哭了一会儿。

夏洛克·福尔摩斯一直闭着眼睛听，但是现在他睁开眼睛看着海伦·斯托纳。

“告诉我跟她的死有关的所有事情。”他说。

“所有的事情我都记得很清楚。那个时候真可怕！”她回答，“我们的三个卧室都在楼下。第一间是我继父的房间。他的隔壁就是朱莉娅的房间，我的房间在朱莉娅的隔壁。三个房间的窗户都在朝着花园的那边，而门在走廊的那一侧。一天晚上，继父在他的房间里抽印度雪茄，味道很呛人。朱莉娅睡不着，因为她在房间里能闻到烟味，所以她来到我的房间和我聊天。她回去睡觉之前跟我说：‘海伦，你半夜里听到过口哨声吗？’”

“我很吃惊。‘没听到过。’”我说。

“‘很奇怪，’她说，‘有时候我会听到口哨声，但是我不知道是从哪儿传来的。你为什么听不到呢？’”

“我笑了，说：‘我比你睡得好呗。’朱莉娅回她的房间去了，并且锁上了门。”

“你们为什么要锁门呢？”夏洛克·福尔摩斯问道。

“因为我们害怕那些野生动物，还有那些吉普赛人。”她回答。

“请接着说。”福尔摩斯说。

“那天晚上我无法入睡。那是个暴风雨之夜，外面风雨交加。突然，我听到一个女人的尖叫。那是我姐姐的声音。我冲进走廊，就在那时我听到了口哨声，一分钟后又听到了金属落地的声音。我不知道那是什么东西发出的。我跑到姐姐的房间门口，她打开门后就倒在地上。她的脸煞白，充满了恐惧，还哭喊着：‘救救我，救救我，海伦，我难受，我要死了！’我抱着她，她用可怕的声音哭喊：‘海伦！噢，我的上帝，海伦！是那条带子！那条有斑点的带子！’她想再说点儿什么，却什么也说不出来了。我叫了继父，他试图救她，但是我们什么也做不了。我最亲爱的姐姐就这么死了。”

“你确定听到了口哨声和金属落地的声音？”福尔摩斯问道。

“我想是的，”海伦回答，“但那天晚上有很大的暴风雨。或许我弄错了。警察没有弄清我姐姐的死因。她的门锁着，没人能进入她的房间。他们也没在她身上发现中毒的迹象。而且‘有斑点的带子’是什么呢？吉普赛人脖子上戴着一种类似的东西。我想她是凶恐惧而死，但是我不知道她害怕的是什么。可能是那些吉普赛人。你怎么看呢，福尔摩斯先生？”

福尔摩斯想了一会儿。“唔，”他说，“那可是个难题。不过请继续说下去。”

“那是两年之前的事了，”海伦·斯托纳说，“没有了姐姐，我一直过得很孤独，但是一个月之前，一位亲爱的朋友向我求婚。我继父也同意了，所以我们很快就要结婚了。但是两天前我不得不搬到我姐姐原来的卧室里，因为一些人正在修补我卧室的墙，而昨晚我又听到了那个口哨声！我立刻跑出了那座房子，来伦敦寻求你的帮助。请你帮帮我，福尔摩斯先生！我不想和朱莉娅一样死去！”

“我们必须赶快行动，”福尔摩斯说，“如果我们今天去你家，我们可以看看那些房间吗？但是不能让你继父知道。”

“他今天在伦敦，所以他不会见到你们的。噢，谢谢你，福尔摩斯先生，我已经感觉好些了。”

2
Holmes and Watson Visit the House

Holmes went out for the morning, but he came back at lunch-time. We then went by train into the country, and took a taxi to Dr Roylott's house. 'You see,' said Holmes to me, 'our dangerous friend Roylott needs the girls' money, because he only has ￡750 a year from his dead wife. I found that out this morning. But the gypsies, the whistle, the band — they are more difficult to understand, but I think I have an answer.'

When we arrived, Helen Stoner showed us the three bedrooms. We saw her room first.

'Why are they mending your bedroom wall?' asked Holmes. 'There's nothing wrong with it.'

'You're right,' she said. 'I think it was a plan to move me into my sister's room.'

'Yes,' said Holmes. We went into Julia's room, and Holmes looked at the windows carefully.

'Nobody could come in from outside,' he said. Then he looked round the room. 'Why is that bell-rope there, just over the bed?'

'My stepfather put it there two years ago. It's for calling a servant, but Julia and I never used it because we didn't have any servants. He also put in that air-vent on the wall between his room and this one.'

Holmes pulled the rope. 'But it doesn't work,' he said. 'How strange! And it's just over the air-vent. That also is interesting. Why have an air-vent on an inside wall? Air-vents are usually on outside walls.'

Then we went into Dr Roylott's room. Holmes saw a large metal box near the wall.

'My stepfather keeps business papers in there,' said Helen.

'Does he keep a cat in there too?' asked Holmes. 'Look!' There was some milk on a plate on top of the box. 'Now, Miss Stoner,' he said, 'I think your life is in danger. Tonight my friend Watson and I must spend the night in your sister's room, where you are sleeping at the moment.'

Helen Stoner and I looked at him in surprise.

'Yes, we must,' he went on. 'We'll take a room in a hotel in the village. When your stepfather goes to bed, put a light in your sister's bedroom window and leave it open. Then go into your old room and we'll get into your sister's room through the window. We'll wait for the sound of the whistle and the falling metal.'

'How did my sister die, Mr Holmes? Do you know? Please tell me!' said Helen. She put her hand on Sherlock Holmes's arm.

'I must find out more before I tell you, Miss Stoner. Now goodbye, and don't be afraid,' replied Sherlock Holmes.

We walked to the village, and Holmes said to me, 'Tonight will be dangerous, Watson. Roylott is a very violent man.'

'But if I can help, Holmes, I shall come with you,' I said.

'Thank you, Watson. I'll need your help. Did you see the bell-rope, and the air-vent? I knew about the air-vent before we came. Of course there is a hole between the two rooms. That explains why Helen's sister could smell Dr Roylott's cigarette.'

'My dear Holmes! How clever of you!' I cried.

'And did you see the bed? It's fixed to the floor. She can't move it. It must stay under the rope, which is near the air-vent.'

'Holmes!' I cried. 'I begin to understand! What a terrible crime!'

'Yes, this doctor is a very clever man. But we can stop him, I think, Watson.'

dangerous adj. able or likely to cause harm or injury 危险的

bell-rope n. a long piece of thin rope, fixed to a wall; you pull it to ring a bell 拉铃绳

air-vent n. a hole, usually on an outside wall, to bring air into a room 通风口

at the moment right now 现在，此刻

fixed adj. if something is fixed, it is not possible to move it 固定的

2．福尔摩斯和华生来访

福尔摩斯出去了一个上午，但在午饭的时候回来了。然后我们乘火车到乡下，坐出租马车到了罗伊洛特医生的家。“你看，”福尔摩斯对我说，“我们危险的朋友罗伊洛特需要姑娘们的钱，因为他每年只能从他死去的妻子那里得到750英镑。这是我今天上午发现的。但是吉普赛人、口哨声、带子——这些比较难以理解，但我想我有答案了。”

我们到达之后，海伦·斯托纳领我们看了三个卧室。我们先看了她的卧室。

“他们为什么要修补你卧室的墙？”福尔摩斯问，“墙没有什么问题啊。”

“你说的对，”她说，“我想这是为了让我搬到我姐姐的房间。”

“是的，”福尔摩斯说。我们走进朱莉娅的房间，福尔摩斯仔细查看了窗户。

“没人能从外面进来，”他说。然后他环顾了一下房间。“那个拉铃的绳子为什么安在床的上方？”

“两年前我继父把它安到那儿的，说是用来叫仆人，但朱莉娅和我从来都没用过，因为我们根本没有仆人。他还在他的房间和这个房间相接的墙上开了那个通风口。”

福尔摩斯拉了拉绳子。“可是这不管用啊，”他说，“真奇怪！而且它正好挂在通风口那儿。那通风口也很有意思。为什么在内墙上开通风口呢？通风口通常是开在外墙上的。”

之后我们又进了罗伊洛特医生的房间。福尔摩斯看到墙边有个大金属箱子。

“我继父在那里面放文件。”海伦说。

“他还在那里面养了一只猫吗？”福尔摩斯问，“看！”箱子上面有个盛着牛奶的盘子。“现在，斯托纳小姐，”他说，“我想你的生命处在危险中。今晚我的朋友华生和我必须在你姐姐的房间里过夜，就是你现在睡觉的地方。”

海伦·斯托纳和我惊奇地看着他。

“是的，我们必须这么做，”他继续说，“我们会在村里的旅馆找一个房间。你继父上床睡觉之后，请你在你姐姐房间的窗口放一盏灯，把窗户开着。然后你到原来的房间睡觉，我们会从窗户进入你姐姐的房间，等着口哨声和金属落地的声音。”

“我姐姐是怎么死的？福尔摩斯先生，你知道吗？请告诉我！”海伦说着，抓住了夏洛克·福尔摩斯的胳膊。

“我必须了解更多的情况才能告诉你，斯托纳小姐。现在再见，不要害怕。”夏洛克·福尔摩斯回答。

我们向村子走去，福尔摩斯对我说：“今晚将会很危险，华生。罗伊洛特是个很凶残的人。”

“但是如果我可以帮你，福尔摩斯，我想和你一起去。”我说。

“谢谢你，华生。我需要你的帮助。刚才你看到那个拉铃绳和通风口了吗？我们来之前我就知道通风口的事了。两个房间之间肯定有个洞。这就解释了海伦的姐姐为什么能够闻到罗伊洛特医生的雪茄烟味。”

“我亲爱的福尔摩斯！你真聪明！”我叫道。

“你看到那床了吗？它是固定在地板上的，她不能移动它。床只能在绳子下面，那里接近通风口。”

“福尔摩斯！”我叫道，“我开始懂了！多可怕的罪行！”

“是的，那医生是个很聪明的人。但我想我们可以阻止他，华生。”

3
Death in the Night

That night we went back to the house. When we saw Helen Stoner's light, Holmes and I got in quietly through the window. Then we waited silently in the middle bedroom in the dark. We waited for three hours and did not move. Suddenly we saw a light and heard a sound from Dr Roylott's room. But nothing happened, and again we waited in the dark. Then there was another sound, a very quiet sound...Immediately Holmes jumped up and hit the bell-rope hard.

'Can you see it, Watson?' he shouted. But I saw nothing. There was a quiet whistle. We both looked up at the air-vent, and suddenly we heard a terrible cry in the next room. Then the house was silent again.

'What does it mean?' I asked. My voice was shaking.

'It's finished,' answered Holmes. 'Let's go and see.'

We went into Dr Roylott's room. The metal box was open. Roylott was sitting on a chair, and his eyes were fixed on the air-vent. Round his head was a strange, yellow speckled band. He was dead.

'The band! The speckled band!' said Holmes very quietly. The band moved and began to turn its head. 'Be careful, Watson! It's a snake, an Indian snake — and its poison can kill very quickly,' Holmes cried. 'Roylott died immediately. We must put the snake back in its box.' Very, very carefully, Holmes took the snake and threw it into the metal box.

'But how did you know about the snake, Holmes?' I asked.

'At first, Watson, I thought that it was the gipsies. But then I understood. I thought that perhaps something came through the air-vent, down the bell-rope and on to the bed. Then there was the milk — and of course, snakes drink milk. It was easy for the Doctor to get Indian animals. And because he was a doctor, he knew that this snake's poison is difficult to find in a dead body. So every night he put the snake through the air-vent, and it went down the bell-rope onto the bed. Of course, nobody must see the snake, so every night he whistled to call it back. The sound of metal falling was the door of the metal box, which was the snake's home. Perhaps the snake came through the air-vent many times before it killed Julia. But in the end it killed her. And Helen, too, nearly died because of this snake.

'But tonight, when I hit the snake on the rope, it was angry and went back through the air-vent. And so it killed the Doctor. I'm not sorry about that.'

Soon after this Helen Stoner married her young man and tried to forget the terrible deaths of her sister and stepfather. But she never really forgot the speckled band.

3．深夜之死

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当天晚上我们回到那所房子。看到海伦·斯托纳的灯亮起，福尔摩斯和我悄悄地从窗户进去。然后我们在中间的房间里静静地摸黑等着。我们等了3个小时，一动也没动。突然，我们看到一些亮光，听到罗伊洛特医生的房间里传来一点儿动静。但是什么事也没发生，我们继续在黑暗中等待。然后又有一个声音响起来，一个非常轻的声音……福尔摩斯立即跳起来，使劲抽打拉铃绳。

“你能看见吗，华生？”他喊道。但是我什么也没看见。这时响起一个轻轻的口哨声。我们都抬头看向通风口，突然听到隔壁房间传来一声惨叫。然后房子又归于寂静了。

“这意味着什么？”我问。我的声音在颤抖。

“结束了，”福尔摩斯回答，“我们去看看。”

我们走进罗伊洛特医生的房间。金属箱子敞开着。罗伊洛特正坐在一把椅子上，眼睛盯着通风口。他的头上缠着一根奇怪的、有黄色斑点的带子。他死了。

“带子！有斑点的带子！”福尔摩斯轻声说道。带子动了，开始转动它的头。“小心，华生！这是一条蛇，一条印度的蛇——它的毒可以让人倾刻毙命，”福尔摩斯喊道，“罗伊洛特被攻击后立刻就死了。我们必须把蛇放回箱子里。”福尔摩斯非常小心地拿起蛇，把它扔回金属箱子里。

“但你是怎么知道有这条蛇的呢，福尔摩斯？”我问。

“一开始，华生，我以为是吉普赛人干的。但是后来我明白了。我想可能是什么东西从通风口进来，顺着拉铃绳一直到床上。然后我们看到了牛奶——当然蛇喝牛奶。这位医生很容易弄到印度的动物。而且因为他是医生，他知道这种蛇毒很难在死尸上被发现。所以每天晚上他把蛇放到通风口那里，让它顺着拉铃绳爬到床上。当然不能有人看到这条蛇，所以每天晚上他吹口哨把它叫回去。金属落下的声音是金属箱子的盖被关上时发出的，蛇一直被关在那里。在杀死朱莉娅之前，它可能已经从通风口下来过很多次了。但是最后它终于杀死了她。海伦也差点儿死于这条蛇之口。

“但是今晚，我抽打绳子上的蛇，把它激怒了，它又从排气孔回去，杀死了医生。我并不为此感到抱歉。”

之后，海伦·斯托纳很快和向她求婚的年轻人结了婚，她尽力想忘掉姐姐和继父的惨死，但是她永远也没有真正忘记那条有斑点的带子。

1．Helen's Story